Heading Back to Mibu

What do we say about this last year here in the U.S.? A year is a long time to be away from our normal home and routine. But it also feels like not enough time in so many ways. It's flown by very quickly, yet we're anxious to get back!

This last year we've had the chance to connect with new church congregations, meet new people, and develop new ministry partnerships. We've felt the love and support of so many of you as you've spent time with us, prayed for us and with us, and have contributed financially to the Mibu Ministry. Thank you so much. These things are so important to us when we're over there, so far away. It's a huge encouragement to us and also an affirmation to continue on and finish this job well in Mibu!

We've travelled a lot more than usual this year. We did over 12,000 miles of road trips, taking us through 23 states! We got to visit friends and supporters along the way. We ended up staying a month in northern Michigan with Shannon's parents which was a great opportunity to spend dedicated time with them! We were able to show the kids many key areas and history of this great country to deepen what they learn in school.

Speaking of the kids, we chose to continue homeschooling this year, though Ethan was at a Christian school 3 mornings a week while his sisters took enrichment courses at Eagleridge all day every Friday.

We looked into and took care of many medical things. Shannon and I had way more x-rays and MRI's than we care to admit, two surgeries, several other procedures, and a hearing aid for me. We checked the health of the kids, and tried to rule out any concerns that may have popped up over the previous 4 years of living in PNG.

We, along with the help of our core team, put on several very successful fundraising events from the Photo Gallery, to the Bluegrass Gospel Concert, and then the annual garage sale! We've been able to see our support change from a $1600 per month deficit to just a $700 per month deficit. We're still hoping we can make up that last little bit in the next month or two here and get our support to a full 100%.

In all this, we moved a total of 5 times this last year! Housing was much more of a challenge than what we've experienced in the past.

And now we're standing right on the precipice as we get ready to make the jump again from this land of comfort-a-plenty to the land of the unexpected, where our trust in God's great provision is sure to be stretched and tested. It's knowing this that this last week of preparation we feel a bit of adrenaline surging through our blood; much like I imagine an athlete must feel as he nears his big race where he knows who he really is will be revealed through testing. We know we're going back to some adversity. We've heard that our solar system is shot, and we have a less than ideal fix we're going to try to implement to get us by a few months while we wait for our proper batteries to arrive from the US. We've also just learned that our internet system which we've come to rely so heavily on for the many logistics of living in the bush has stopped working. We're still not sure what the problem is there, or how long or how much money it's going to take to fix it. Coming back to a house that's been mostly unoccupied for a year in the bush usually results in some unexpected projects to get everything functioning again. But we are so looking forward to heading back (and the adrenaline helps us put longer hours into our preparations) and being a part of what God is doing there. We're looking forward to being with our friends and fellow brothers and sisters in Christ and supporting and walking with them further into the maturity of their faith.

So folks, March 7th is the date that we're planning on departing Phoenix and heading half-way around the globe to our home in Mibu. Please pray us on our way; not just for our getting there, but also for our getting settled again, getting everything working again, and readjusting back to life and ministry in Mibu again.